


it's a longshot

by takenbysleep



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:30:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2430584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takenbysleep/pseuds/takenbysleep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>au prompt: stuck together working on a project.</p><p>this was very based off of tyler asking josh if they would have even been friends in high school.</p><p>if you want to send me any prompts, please do! (just as long as they're not sad or smutty bc i just can't write those)</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's a longshot

Josh Dun was a punk.

Josh Dun was a messy-haired, all-black wearing, nose-pierced, always-tardy punk.

Well, he was to Tyler Joseph.

Now, Tyler isn't one to judge. Though Tyler was a basketball player, and, though he doesn't want to toot his own horn, seemed to be kinda well-liked at his small school, he couldn't just be mean to people he didn't even know. Hell, he couldn't be mean, anyways. The guy was too afraid to even make a sarcastic remark in fear of someone getting offended. He got along with everyone. He knew everyone. Well, almost everyone, apparently. He didn't know Josh Dun all that well. Tyler has his own issues and flaws and insecurities, so why should he berate anyone else? But for some reason, Josh intimidated Tyler. And Tyler didn't like that. Was it just because he had a piercing and got detention a lot? God, he hoped not. Tyler didn't want to feel like he was judging someone strictly for their appearance or how late they were or how often they got in trouble.

"Why hasn't he been suspended yet? He's been late to class six times," Tyler's girlfriend, Jenna, whispered from the seat next to him. He shrugged. Josh Dun could get away with practically anything. He _did_ get away with practically anything.

Josh found his seat next to Mark ...Eshleman? Tyler's pretty sure the kid's last name is Eshleman. Tyler knew Mark. They didn't talk often, but he seemed cool. He was really into photography and video-editing, and from what he's shown Tyler, he's pretty darn good at it. 

Once Mrs. Scott was finally finished with her lecture, she talked about some book report project thing that Tyler knew he had no interest in.

"You can have a partner for this assignment," Mrs. Scott started. Tyler quickly whipped his head around to face Jenna, and she smiled. Tyler beamed back, but his bubble of happiness was soon popped.

"But I will be picking them at random," the teacher finished. Groans ensued from, most likely, everyone in the classroom.

"Let's see," Mrs. Scott grabbed her clipboard and studied it for a bit before name-calling.

"Jenna Black... you will be paired with Mark Eshleman." 

Jenna looked at Tyler, who was pouting. _Sorry_ , she mouthed, walking over to the seat next to Mark. Tyler sighed. The only person he really wanted to be paired up with got paired up with someone else. Of course.

A few names later, Tyler finally heard his own.

"Joshua Dun..." Mrs. Scott read.

"Josh," the messy-haired boy corrected her.

Mrs. Scott shot Josh a look before fixing her error. "Josh... will be paired with Tyler Joseph."

Tyler's head shot up. Oh God, how was this going to go? He had never talked to Josh before. Was Josh going to sit at Tyler's table? Would the opposite happen? What if Tyler and Josh got up at the same time. That would be so awkward. Josh would think he was an idiot. Tyler shakes his head. Why does he even care about this? Josh is only one person. Tyler should not care about his opinions on him.

Tyler watched Josh stand up and grab his backpack, walking over to Tyler's table in the back corner and sitting down. 

The moment Tyler had been anxious for arrived several announced pairs later.

"I'm Josh," Tyler heard. He looked up, noticing that Josh had his hand out. Tyler briefly shook his hand with a tight grip, hoping his hand wasn't shaking.

"Tyler." He was so confused. Tyler knows nearly everyone, yet when he meets someone new, he tenses up. How does that even work?

"So, what book do you wanna do a report on?" Josh yawned.

"I, uh. I dunno. Maybe we could figure that out later? I can't think of anything right now," Tyler stated.

"Sure," Josh responded, nodding.

There was a silence between them for about five minutes. It felt like 5 hours to Tyler, so he was relieved when Josh finally spoke up again.

"What music do you like?" Josh asked.

"Pardon?"

"What music do you like," Josh repeated slowly. "I won't judge. It's just an icebreaker."

Tyler had never really thought to answer that question. He realized that he wasn't very musical. He basically just spent his time doing basketball-related things. Was that sad? It probably was. 

"Um. I don't really... have much time to listen to music. But, uh, I listen to Christian rap sometimes," he uttered.

"Cool," Josh nodded. "I like punk music. My parents hate it, so I guess that's why I started listening to it. But I found myself actually liking most of the bands I tried listening to," he grinned, starting to laugh a little. Josh has a nice smile. A friendly one. Tyler wondered if Josh ever had braces, because his teeth are great. "Why don't you really have time to listen to music?"

"I play basketball, and when I'm not, I'm doing homework," Tyler explains.

Josh just looks at him, as if he was urging Tyler to give him more details. Maybe he was just tired, but he swore that look was an invitation for Tyler to vent.

"I just... I have to do good in school. My parents want me to do good, and I love my parents, so I want to do good. And I've done basketball since I was little, and I guess I'm okay at it, considering my parents almost grounded me when I said I might want to quit basketball. That really stressed me out because basketball is just something I'm used to doing, but I'm not really happy with it. But I don't know what I even want to do if I stop playing basketball because I'm not good at anything else and everyone is gonna applying for colleges soon and-" Tyler was nowhere near finished, but Josh put a hand on his back and Tyler just froze.

"Dude, breathe," Josh said calmly, and Tyler did as he was told, taking a deep breath. "I didn't really mean to stop you from telling me all of that, but you seemed like you were gonna pass out at any moment." Josh looked genuinely worried. 

"It's okay to feel like that. I mean, I don't really feel like that too often. But a lot of people do, so you're not alone, okay? I'm 100% positive that there's something for you out there that you actually want to do and that you're at least okay at," Josh reassured him. "I know we just met each other a few minutes ago, but I know you're smart. You'll find something, I promise."

"Thank you," Tyler murmured. 

"Here's my number. We're probably gonna need to talk about the report at some point. It's also useful for if you wanna vent some more," Josh chuckled. "It's a no judgement-zone."

"You sound like my therapist, except you're more punk rock," Tyler said. Josh laughed.

"Wow, I really did sound like a therapist, didn't I? That doesn't really matter, though. I still meant everything I said."

Tyler still didn't know him all that well, but so far, he knew Josh Dun was a very kind person.

Josh Dun was a messy-haired, all-black wearing, nose-pierced, always-tardy but very kind person.

And he had a feeling that this friendship (if you could call it that, at this point?) would last.


End file.
